Free Shapes Games and Activities for the ESL English Classroom

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards

How To Play

Class size: whole class

Set up: After doing the Planet of the Shapes song, bring children into the centre of the classroom, before flashcards are positioned in four corners of the room. Everyone kneels down, and the teacher draws the shape in the air. The teacher then yells "Sho Shokka!" and the kids run to the shape that the teacher has drawn.

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards

How To Play

Purchase from the ¥100 store the pack of “8 shapes easy linking”. In it is a 3” triangle, square, circle, heart, and some others.

Level 1
Intro shapes.
Sit children in a circle.
Do the shuffle shuffle “stop” with plastic shapes.
Hamming it up as best you can put one of the shapes into a very rustley plastic bag or small metal tin, making sure they cant see which one.
Play music.
The bag/tin passes around the circle with enough time for each child to shake the tin loudly or scrunch the bag. This is exciting.
Pause the CD. The lucky child opens the tin and the child or group shouts out the shape.
Change the shape and repeat.
For larger groups pass two tins/bag/shapes.

Level 2

As above but use only the scrunchy bag.
When the music stops the lucky child has guess what the shape is without opening the bag.

Numbers.
For smaller groups, as it can take a while for the bag to pass around, put a random number of plastic shapes in a scrunchy bag. When the music stops the child has to a) guess without opening it how many shapes are in the bag, or b) look and say how many.

Colours.
As many shapes as you like in the bag/tin. Lucky child opens it and says the colours of each shape.

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards

How To Play

Set up: Introduce the shape cards. Play some game music and have the kids walking/dancing in a circle. Randomly place a card by the window, on the door, on the ceiling, and on the floor whilst music is playing.Stop and ask where the cards are. Kids have to say "ceiling" or"floor", wherever that card is located.

Resources

• None

How To Play

Materials: none
Time: 5 minutes
Receptive Language: ‘Draw a ______’
Productive Language: ‘It’s a ______’
Game Explanation: After reviewing the cards you want to focus on, indicate to the students that you will draw one of the cards in the air with your finger. The first student or team to correctly identify what you’ve drawn scores a point. Older students may be able to air-draw the cards themselves.
Note: See also: Back to Back

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards

How To Play

Materials to use: Strips of construction paper 2-3 inches thick
Class size: Whole
Set Up:
Split the class into groups convenient to the size then say a shape, the kids then have to make that shape. First team to finish wins. For a dash of spice incorporate colored paper to make a red square for example.

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards

How To Play

Time: 4-6 minutes
Receptive Language: flashcard vocab, ‘erase’
Productive Language: flashcard vocab
Game Explanation: Using different coloured markers or chalk, draw a number of shapes on the board. Call out a shape (‘Red triangle!’ or ‘Erase the red triangle!’). Either one at a time or in one-on-one competition the students must erase the correct shapes. If you like, you can add ‘big’ & ‘small’ for a triple-threat language bonanza (‘Erase the small green circle!’).

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards
• Colored Paper

How To Play

Materials: Strips of coloured paper. A3 cut length ways.
Time: 10 minutes
Receptive Language: ‘Make a triangle’ etc
Game Explanation: Sit all the children in a circle, or with space between each child. Call out circle. Children then race to bend their strip of paper into a circle.

Resources

• Shapes Flash Cards

How To Play

Time: 10 minutes
Receptive Language: ‘Make a triangle’
Game Explanation: As a group dance around to some music. When the music stops the students make pairs. In pairs, while holding hands, the children have to, as best they can, make a shape you call out. Go around the room and see how well they are doing. For a variation have the students lie on the floor and make shapes with their whole body. For example, make groups of three and lie down together to make a triangle.